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Joe the plumber, a man who spoke up at a recent Obama rally and asked him some tough questions about his tax plan, unwittingly became the star of the debate last night. He was mentioned 24 times, and both candidates spoke directly to him, telling him everything from “Congratulations Joe- you’re rich!” (a sarcasm laden McCain), to “what I want to do is to make sure that the plumber, the nurse, the firefighter, the teacher, the young entrepreneur who doesn’t yet have money, I want to give them a tax break now” (this coming from cool hand luke himself, Obama).

hard at work

Now, my father, Kevin the plumber, would probably have something to say about all this. First of all, my father has worked just as hard as Joe, if not harder. Kevin the plumber owns his own business, which he started himself, and Kevin the plumber is pretty darn successful. However, Kevin the plumber makes nowhere near 250,000 a year. Let’s keep in mind that Joe doesn’t either. He just wants to buy a business that might make him that much. But really, his taxable income would still be waaaaay less than that. Come on Joe, don’t you see? With McCain you’re just getting more of the same Bush tax policies, which involve small cuts for the poor and big cuts for the rich. With Obama, you might really have a chance to buy that business, and it sounds like you’ll still be eligible for a tax cut.

Kevin the plumber knows this. I think most plumbers do actually. Because, as a plumbers daughter, I am well aware that plumbers don’t make 250,000 a year… not even close. Joe the plumber, you have to clean an awful lot of drains for that much money. Let’s get this straight.

Hola from Mexico City! I arrived here in the urban madness that is el DF a few short weeks ago, and am writing to you all from my new room and an old desk I just bought today. To transport the desk to my house, I was told to ask a guy up the street who ran the newsstand if he would let me use his truck. He agreed and after loading up the desk, some chairs, and a few other odds and ends, we were off.

On the way over, he asked me “Isn’t it easier to live in your country?” In other words, Why are you here? At first I thought to myself, well it actually is easier for me to live here in Mexico, since everything is so much cheaper… but then I also thought about how difficult simple things can be here, how dangerous it can be, etc etc. It was a complicated question indeed. I told him that while perhaps things may be easier in my country, I also really loved Mexico, and I loved learning about new cultures and learning new languages. But he was persistent. In part because for him, the concept of moving to another country just to “experience” a new culture was insanity. Ricardo, as I found he was called, had more pressing concerns such as feeding his wife and two kids, who he had left to watch over the newsstand.

It was one of those moments I find myself in all to often. When one chooses to leave the comforts of home and the first world, one encounters not only different cultures, different ways of life, and different languages, but also entirely different priorities and mentalities. It is difficult interacting with somebody who may barely have enough money to buy milk at the end of the day when I go to the grocery store and purchase such extravagant items as olive oil and ice cream with ease. Yet while these interactions are difficult, challenging, and heartbreaking, I also view them as rare opportunities to learn and grow. They also present me with a chance to offer a unique (and I’d like to think positive) image of Americans, and to help combat much of what the rest of the world has learned about my country and its people through mass media.

In many ways, that is what this scholarship is all about. Two years ago I received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, which, in short, means that I am currently an ambassador of both Rotary and my country. The entire idea behind Rotary Scholarships is based around personal interactions and breaking cultural boundaries. I am excited about the prospect of a year full of interactions just like the one I had today, and look forward to being challenged in many ways.

On a side note, la mudanza did not fare so well, and the desk (bought used) ended up falling apart half-way up the stairs. The top part ended up crashing two floors down into a little room off the kitchen. Thankfully the desk, and my helpers all survived, and the damage was minimal. It was actually quite an event, which led to me borrowing a hammer from the local cantina (they were thrilled to help the gringa, hahaha), and spending the afternoon banging about trying to fix the struggling desk. All in all, not bad for a lazy Sunday.